Shocking video evidence has emerged showing Israeli forces shooting dead two Palestinian men moments after they had surrendered during a military raid in Jenin. The footage, which has circulated widely across Israeli and Arab media outlets, depicts what human rights groups are describing as a summary execution.
The Jenin Incident: A Detailed Timeline
The video documentation begins with Israeli soldiers surrounding what appears to be a storage facility in an urban area of Jenin. The incident occurred on Thursday evening during a joint operation between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli border police.
Military forces used a mechanical digger to breach the garage-style door of the building. Following this breach, two men crawled out from under the damaged door, surrendering on their hands and knees. In a clear demonstration of their non-combatant status, both men held up their shirts to show they were unarmed.
Uniformed officers from Israel's border police then approached the surrendered men. One officer, described as bald-headed and bearded and not wearing a helmet, appeared to take charge of the situation. This officer was seen kicking the men while they remained on the ground before ordering them back toward the building under the damaged door.
The Execution Moment
As the two detainees crawled away from their captors and reached the threshold of the building, the five border police officers visible at the scene simultaneously raised their assault rifles. The video shows both men immediately slumping to the ground after the officers opened fire.
Journalists close to the scene witnessed the shooting, adding independent verification to the video evidence. The justice ministry has confirmed the incident is under review, though human rights organisations have expressed scepticism about the effectiveness of such investigations.
Official Responses and Condemnation
The IDF issued a statement acknowledging that two men were shot during what they described as an operation to apprehend "wanted individuals who had carried out terror activities, including hurling explosives and firing at security forces." The military statement claimed the forces had initiated a surrender procedure that lasted several hours before the suspects exited the building.
In stark contrast to calls for investigation, Israel's far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir openly defended the killings. The minister, who was convicted in 2007 of incitement to racism and supporting a terrorist organisation, stated: "The fighters acted exactly as expected of them – terrorists must die."
Yuli Novak, executive director of the B'Tselem human rights group, condemned the incident, stating: "The execution documented today is the result of an accelerated process of dehumanisation of Palestinians and the complete abandonment of their lives by the Israeli regime."
B'Tselem stopped cooperating with Israeli military review processes in 2016, declaring them a "whitewash" after documenting that Israeli soldiers and police are rarely held accountable for killings of Palestinians despite hundreds of allegations.
What distinguishes Thursday's killings in Jenin from many previous incidents is the stark and unambiguous nature of the video evidence, which provides clear visual documentation of the events leading to the deaths of the two Palestinian men.
